


these simple words

by afrocurl



Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, Roleplay, Sexual Roleplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-18
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-02-13 15:56:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2156478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In life, there are choices to make to make life - a complete life - work.</p><p>Charles and Erik (in two different worlds) try to make life work, everything else gets in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. it will feel like home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [luninosity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/luninosity/gifts).



> This story takes two different versions of Charles and Erik (one set who are happy and looking to spice things up and one who are falling into a rut and looking to see if they can change things), with the same premise.
> 
> Also, a much _much_ belated birthday presents to Luni!

Charles has half a mind to stop this before it even starts. Only half, though, because he finds that he likes the way the UPS uniform feels against his skin. This whole idea is set up as a way for them to keep things strong between them and to not fall into a rut like so many other couples do after years and years together.

So, he holds onto the dented package and rings the doorbell to their shared brownstone. He stops himself from laughing at anything that might happen - this poor package is nearly beyond saving, but it’s all part of the plan - and waits for Erik to answer the door.

“UPS,” Charles says after the knock has gone unanswered for a few minutes. “Package for you, ah, Mr. Lehnsherr.” He remembers to look down at the battered box to say Erik’s name for effect.

Seconds later, Charles hears Erik’s feet padding on the hardwood floor towards the door. Erik’s wearing only his robe and boxers, and he has a surly expression on his face that says he wants nothing to do with this delivery.

Perfect, then.

“Sir, I need you to sign for this package. And we’re very sorry that it was so badly damaged en route.”

Erik grumbles while Charles hands over the scanner/reader. “What are you going to do about the broken package?”

“Policy says that we can’t do anything specific, but I feel bad about what happened to your--” Charles trails off.

“It was a gift for my husband. He doesn’t know that I bought him something for our next weekend away.”

“Oh,” is all Charles says, because they hadn’t discussed what the package was as part of the scene. Erik’s doing better with this than Charles imagined. 

“Yes, ‘oh’,” Erik says, “and now I need to see if the whole gift is ruined or not. If you’ll help me open it - and see if it’s still useable - I won’t file a claim with Corporate for the damage.”

There’s a rougher edge to what Erik says, as if he’s actually put out by the idea of the package being damaged, but that that’s a front. Inside the damaged box is a new toy, one that the two of them had wanted to try in a situation like this.

“Well, I suppose it’s the least I can do. It’s the end of the day, and my truck’s empty.” Charles waits for Erik to step aside and let him in.

Erik says, “Good, come inside and we’ll see how it turned out.” He lets Charles in and leads the way into the informal living room next to the door and just off the foyer.

Charles stands awkwardly in the room as Erik walks around, looking as if he really does own the room and Charles doesn’t. The box is now more awkward than he wanted it to be and so Charles tries to shift it from one side of his body to the other, but it comes off all wrong and the box drops to the floor with a loud thud.

“Is that how you still want to treat this?” Erik asks, brow furrowed. 

“No, no sir. But, it’s just a bit strange to hold onto for this long. I don’t normally have to for this long. Even when I need a signature, it’s only for another minute or two, not five or seven.”

Erik hums as if he understands and follows it with a careful look at the package on the floor. “Well, hopefully this extra drop won’t have broken the present. You don’t mind if I open it?”

“No, it’s yours, you know. I’m here so I can report to Corporate.”

“Yes, but you’ll be in trouble if the contents are too badly damaged, won’t you?”

“I thought you said that you wouldn’t?” Charles tries to raise his voice and sound concerned, in part because he is and in part because he’s supposed to be slightly scared by the idea of being scolded for his poor treatment of a client’s delivery.

“I might,” Erik starts, “but that’s more to do with what everything looks like in here. So, let’s see how it’s going to go for you.”

Charles watches with rapt attention as Erik pulls out a knife from a drawer and cuts the tape all around. The dents had taken some time to get exactly right, but it doesn’t mean that Charles really wants their new toy to be broken. It’s only another few minutes before Erik has the box open - the dents less noticeable now that it has less shape and volume.

“Well, it looks like you can keep your job and I won’t have to file a report.” Erik pulls out the package, still sealed in plastic, but the toy is very obviously undamaged. Charles lets out a loud sigh of relief.

“I’m glad everything’s worked out, Mr. Lehnsherr. I think I’ll be on my way now. My supervisors will wonder why I’m late back to the lot with my truck.” Charles starts to move back towards the door, slow but sure, as if he doesn’t know what Erik has in mind now.

“I think,” Erik says before he comes closer to Charles near the door, “you’ll stay for a while longer. I want to make sure that everything’s working with this. I think it’s the least you could do for me after the scare you put me through.”

“Uh,” Charles starts, and then stops. This is the moment where things are going to change from a simple skit into something else - the something else that they both want because they’re trying to keep everything fresh and new with their relationship - but it doesn’t mean that Charles isn’t blind to the predatory look in Erik’s eyes at the idea of taking Charles right now against the doors.

“Yes,” Erik says.

“If I won’t be too much longer, then yes. I can’t be later than 7 without my boss calling to see if something is wrong with the truck.”

“Then we’ll just have to be quick about this.” Erik walks slowly towards Charles. “I bet I can make you come in ten minutes.”

Charles lets his breath hitch at the thought and can only nod because Erik’s low voice and the glint in his eyes are undoing Charles. “Does that include prep?”

“Hmmmm. No. So let’s say twenty minutes. You won’t be late then will you?”

Charles nods again.

“Good. Now, why don’t we get started. Shoes and shorts, off.”

Charles does as he’s been requested, and flicks off the heavy boots and then the polyester shorts and his boxer-briefs. He’s just in the ugly brown shirt, hat and socks as his cock stands half-hard.

“Oh, you like what I’m saying, don’t you?” Erik whispers against Charles’ ear. “Have you ever had sex with a stranger before? Have you?” 

Charles closes his eyes at the question because it spikes so many thoughts in his head that he can’t tell if he wants to see Erik now. “No,” he finally says, though he’s not sure how much time has passed since Erik asked.

“But you want to now?”

Charles can’t trust his voice right now and so he only nods before he opens his eyes and sees that Erik’s not standing in front of him. In those few seconds, Erik’s moved to the ottoman and has the bottle of lube out from one of the drawers. “Come here then, stranger.”

Charles walks on shaky legs towards the ottoman and watches as Erik pops the top on the lube and coats his fingers. “Lie on your back here,” Erik says before he gives Charles some space to put himself on top of the cushion. He doesn’t put his feet on it, unsure of how Erik wants him, but wanting to be taken all the same.

“Scoot back so your ass is all the way here.” Charles does and feels as if Erik’s going to metaphorically devour him whole and punish him with their new glass dildo. Before Charles can say anything cheeky, Erik’s index finger starts to rub around Charles’ hole before it slowly pushes in.

Charles cants his hips up and wants to moan, but Erik says, “My husband’s a very jealous man. He might have something here to catch me. You’ll have to be quiet. You can do that?”

Charles only nods and bites on his lower lip to keep his voice down. It doesn’t take long for Erik to work him with one finger before a second is added. Erik’s scissoring him open, and it’s almost too much for Charles to handle now. He hadn’t planned on getting this turned on by what they had plotted, but it happens all the same.

“Shh,” Erik adds after a particularly wide scissoring of his fingers. “Not a sound.”

“Can’t promise much,” Charles whispers before he feels Erik pulling his fingers out and then there’s a low whine that is pulled from deep in Charles’ groin.

“I have to get the toy ready, Mr. UPS man. I can’t have it too cold for you, can I?”

Charles wants to shake his head, but doesn’t.

“Oh, if that’s how you want it,” Erik says before he puts some more lube on the dildo and then presses it against Charles. “You did say I only had twenty minutes and I think I’m only at seven right now. How long do you think you’ll last?”

It makes Charles think for just a minute before he says, “Seven.”

“Then I’ll have to make it five,” Erik replies before the dildo slides in without much tension. It’s cold - almost too cold - but it feels right to all the heat that Charles feels coming off his body. He’s shocked at just how warm he feels from what little Erik has done.

Perhaps that’s the whole point, and as it finally comes to Charles’ mind to just let go, he does.

Erik’s pace is slow at first and then nearly too much, and it’s not hard to feel both the dildo working in and out of him and his own erection bobbing against his skin. Charles keeps biting at his lip, tasting blood now, to stop from screaming in pleasure from Erik’s ministrations.

Time stops, for all Charles can tell, until he feels himself drawing closer and closer, his orgasm strong. He cants his hips as Erik continues to work the dildo into him, milking the orgasm for all it’s worth.

“Hmm,” Erik says when he finally stops moving the dildo, “you lasted nine minutes. Better than you thought.”

“Thank you,” Charles whispers, his voice not strong after he’s tried to keep quiet.

“It was my pleasure. I know my husband will love this now. Thank you.”

“But won’t he see the open package?” Charles asks when he can speak more clearly.

“Not if you leave before he gets home. He didn’t know when it was arriving, so I can just surprise him with it.”

“Oh,” Charles says and then he slowly pulls himself off the ottoman and goes to look for his shorts, underwear and boots. They’re still by the door where he left them, and Erik has already started to move around the room, putting it back to rights.

“Don’t worry. This’ll be our little secret,” Erik says as he passes Charles by the door, holding the dildo in his hands to clean up.

“It will,” Charles replies as he finishes dressing, and then steps out of the door with his scanner and nothing else. He walks down the street and turns the corner towards the coffee shop where Alex and Armando work. He’s got to change into his regular clothes before he goes home for dinner.

And another date with their new toy, he hopes.


	2. it's a complicated fear

Erik wants to ignore the doorbell as soon as he hears it. He wants to ignore far too many things right now, but most especially his husband’s insistence that they are in a rut and need to work it out.

Charles doesn’t want them to become Emma and Sebastian or Scott and Logan or even Logan and Jean or Scott and Jean (why those three just didn’t all share each other, Charles and Erik can’t understand), and when Charles sets his mind to something, it’s hard to put a stop to it.

Case in point, today. Both of them have put in for PTO from work - small mercies for each of them - and Charles is ready to walk up to the door with a dented package as a UPS officer for Erik to taunt and tease and have his way with, all in the name of keeping their marriage fresh.

Because their marriage isn’t fresh right now. They each work too many hours a day: Charles’ lab time increasingly more important for the stake of his grants and prestige for the university, and Erik’s engineering firm has been bidding on so many new projects that Erik’s always busy designing buildings. They barely see each other at night or in the morning, and when they do, they’re both so exhausted that sex is out of the question.

It had been like this for nearly a year now, before Charles put his foot down.

But that doesn’t mean that Erik likes this idea. He’s expected to wait here for a UPS man to deliver a package, badly damaged, that Charles and Erik are going to use later. Erik is supposed to be annoyed and frustrated, (not hard for him) and inspect the damaged box before Charles leaves. Anything else is left to improvisation, and Erik doesn’t know if he can muster the energy to get it down.

The doorbell rings as if on cue, and Erik slowly pads to the door. He uses the peephole quickly to make sure that it’s actually Charles and not missionaries or someone who wants to sell steak knives. It’s neither of those groups, and so Erik carefully opens the door and stares at Charles.

Charles, who is dressed in a UPS uniform - down to the brown socks and boots - holding a very dented brown box that contains a glass dildo Charles had ordered.

“UPS for a Mr. Lehnsherr,” Charles says, calm and collected as if he’s enjoying this little charade. 

“But,” Erik says, “it’s damaged.” 

“It’s company policy to not replace any damaged property. But if you don’t mind opening it now, I can make sure that everything is fine before I leave.”

“This is fragile,” Erik replies, “if you didn’t notice all the stamps all over it.”

“Sir, it was like this when I received it at the warehouse. The damage happened before I got it.”

“Well then, why don’t you come in and we’ll see if I have to order another one of these for my husband and I.” Erik opens the door a bit wider and waits for Charles to step into their foyer.

“Married?” Charles asks as he finally steps into the house.

“Yes, for ten years this coming June.” Erik starts to walk into the study and holds onto the package as if it’s a lifeline, ignoring the photos of their wedding that are on the mantle of their fireplace. He sits awkwardly on one side of the couch and soon Charles does the same.

“And things are going well for you both?”

Erik just shakes his head. “No, this is a surprise to see if we can get back something we’ve lost.”

“You don’t look like you’re lacking in a sex drive,” Charles says with a long look up and down Erik’s body. Charles never stops looking at Erik, even if Erik has had no time to think about sex in weeks, if not months.

“We’re busy.”

“You should always make time for each other; that will keep any relationship strong.”

“That sounds like my husband.”

“He must be a very wise man,” Charles says. “Now, if you’ll just open the package and sign for it, I’ll be on my way, sir.”

“No, I think I’ll take my time with this.” It’s a cruel thing to do for the sake of this, but Erik finds that talking to this version of Charles that isn’t actual Charles is a nice change.

“I have to be back in at the warehouse by 7 PM, Mr. Lehnsherr,” Charles says. “If I don’t want my supervisor to worry that I’ve been in an accident or had an emergency.”

“I won’t keep you that long. Plus, this way you have to hope for the package to be in perfect order.”

“As I said, you can’t blame us for damages. Company policy.”

“I might not be able to get my money’s worth, but I can get my time’s worth.” It’s awkward to be this cold and hard with Charles, but it’s about what he’s been feeling most of the time. Charles’ work has been everything in the last year, and so it was easier for Erik to take up more work himself to keep things square.

“Mr--” Charles starts, but Erik puts up his hand as if he doesn’t want to hear it.

“I took off the day from work so I could make sure this was delivered without incident. I’ll do whatever I please with your time now.”

Charles squirms on his side of the couch. “I’m sure there was tracking information provided for you. You didn’t need to take off so much time.”

“But I did, and this is what I get. I’m not sure if I should just give up on his attempts to keep things alive or not now.”

“Hope’s an important thing, Mr. Lehnsherr. I doubt you’d have taken the time to be so concerned about this package if you didn’t love your husband.”

Erik can only hum at that. It is a valid point. He hadn’t dismissed Charles’ interest in bringing things back to where they had been as college students, which meant that he cared - cares - about this. Only it’s been so hard to keep up any positive spirit when he can’t control how chaotic work has been.

“You have a point,” is all Erik can say.

“Because you know I’m right.”

“You’re worse than my husband.”

“I don’t know much about him, but I think that he must be a good man.”

“He’s the best.”

“So, why don’t you see how well the contents made it and then you can surprise him later when he comes home?” Charles hedges.

“I suppose. I don’t know what else we can talk about without anything more personal anway.”

Charles just nods and keeps his eyes on the package in Erik’s lap.

Erik finds the letter opener in the desk next to the couch and slices the tape. The rest of the box has seen better days, and the packing material has protected the dildo. “It’s fine. You can go now.”

Charles stands up from his side of the couch and starts to walk back out of the house. He pauses and then says, “Take care of him, Mr. Lehnsherr. I know you love him.”

Erik doesn’t say anything to that and then he hears the door close and sags against the couch. He hasn’t had the time to think about why he still loves Charles, only that he still does. But Charles’ words - in the guise of the UPS guy - were true. Just because Charles’ work had made things difficult, Erik didn’t need to reply in kind; he could have made a point of being here more to show Charles that he cares. Instead, he did as Charles did and just worked more; ignoring the problem as if it isn’t there at all.

When clearly there’s an elephant in their brownstone.

But, perhaps this little role-play can help. Charles doesn’t want to see the relationship sour, and Erik doesn’t either, even if he hadn’t had the chance to tell Charles that in the right words. He might have them now.

With Charles gone around the corner to change out of the rented uniform, Erik fully opens the glass dildo and goes to put all the evidence of its arrival in the trash and starts to get something started for a quiet dinner at home. They have a chicken, some risotto, and vegetables that Erik can make into a presentable meal.

By the time Charles walks back into the door - now dressed in his usual khakis and Oxford shirt - dinner is still not done, but closer. The chicken is roasting and the risotto is set to start once Erik can get some of the fat and liquid from the roaster.

“Smells wonderful,” Charles says loudly. “Let me take off my shoes and I’ll be in.”

Erik doesn’t reply, because he knows that he can’t say what’s on his mind to the empty house, and so he waits, watching the chicken cook.

“You went all out with your day off, I see,” Charles says when he walks into the kitchen and goes to get a bottle of wine from their cooler against a wall.

“I had some helpful advice earlier,” is Erik’s reply.

“Did you now?” Charles asks, with a glint in his eye. Charles knows what Erik’s saying without Erik having to say it specifically.

That tells him everything will be alright for them. 

Just caring about losing the spark is a sign that they can fix it. Knowledge and understanding are half the battle.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Ben Gibbard's "Farmer Chords". Many thanks to Di and Kerne for their beta help.


End file.
